High school students developing new art installation to celebrate Black History Month

High school students in Exeter enrolled on an inspiring community project that is seeking to address the underrepresentation of Black educators in the region’s under-16 education are creating a new piece of public art.

Teenagers at two schools in the city are partnering with artist Jedidah Chick to produce collaborative artwork with a theme of ‘Reclaiming narratives: empowering black history’.

The 1.5m-by-1m canvas will consist of writing and artwork by the students as well as artwork by Jedidah in a collage style and when finished will be displayed in venues across the city.

The collaborative project has been orchestrated by B-HUGs (Black Heritage University Groups), created by academics at the University of Exeter. Launched earlier this year, B-HUGs is working to provide Black students in under-16 education with mentorship and role models in higher education to help promote feelings of belonging in this sector.

“We know that, for young people of Black heritage it is very unlikely they will encounter Black educators as they progress through their education,” says Dr Safi Darden, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University and B-HUGs co-founder. “And this, alongside systemic racism and discrimination, can lead to differential outcomes for these young people in education and other pursuits.

“B-HUGs is an initiative for promoting social change. We aim to provide a forum for skill and knowledge development and consciousness raising, all under the leadership of Black role models. And thanks to our partnership with schools in Exeter we have been able to run our first Black History Month event in-school. With Jedidah joining us for this, we are offering the students a creative workshop to celebrate this year’s Black History Month.”

Artist Chick was born in Zimbabwe, and her paintings are distinguished by their celebration of her African heritage, and particularly the female figure, her struggle and her history.

Pupils from West Exe School have attended the workshop with Jedidah over two sessions, exploring the themes of the piece and some of the techniques they might use, and then putting them into practice. Pupils from St James School will be doing the workshop next term.

Rosie Salter, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at West Exe School, said: “It’s been amazing to bring in students from a range of year groups – from 7 to 10 – and to have them create pieces of art inspired either Jedidah’s work or experiences in their own life.

“As a school it’s really important for us to raise the profile of the students and celebrate them, and to create these safe spaces where they can grow in confidence and express themselves.”

The idea behind B-HUGs originated with academics at Exeter who are or were themselves enrolled on the Black Women Professors NOW programme. This is a 12-month accelerator and change programme seeking to address the chronic lack of Black women professors in UK higher education. Run by the Women’s Higher Education Network, two cohorts have taken part at Exeter over the past two years, encompassing 14 academics.

“As of the start of this year, there were just 61 black women professors working in UK higher education, out of a total of 23,000 people,” says Dr Melody Kuziwa Jombe, Lecturer in Business Strategy and Marketing in the Exeter Business School and co-founder of B-HUGs. “Black Women Professors NOW is offering academics a platform not simply for their self-development, but to inspire and motivate others who want to excel in education.

“We felt it was important to take that ethos and idea and reach into our communities – and that is how B-HUGs came into being.”

During terms 1 and 2 of the year, academics visit the schools, offering mentoring and other forms of support to the children. And then in term 3, the programme intensifies, with the pupils attending a series of 12 weekly sessions at Exeter’s Streatham and St Luke’s campuses, delivered by staff, and covering a range of different subjects, from medicine to creative writing.

“It’s about creating an environment and community where individuals can thrive,” adds Dr Jombe. “Not only are we offering the children the role models they’ve hitherto been denied, but we are also making them accessible. And through this piece of collaborative art, we are taking that one step further by inviting them to work together, and create something that affirms their individual and collective Black histories.”

B-HUGs is funded by the University of Exeter’s Bridging Communities Fund, Participatory Research Fund and Centre for Social Mobility. The Black History Month workshops are funded by the Central Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy and Centre for Ecology and Evolution Wellbeing, Inclusion and Culture Committees and the Departments of Geography, Health & Community Sciences, Psychology and Management at the University of Exeter.

For more information about B-HUGs, visit the website.